Reports that the UK is about to put a motion to the UN seeking the expulsion of Russia as a permanent member of the Security Council.
4 Likes
I hope they have done their homework otherwise it could be a serious fuck up!
1 Like
Which can be vetoed by Russia, being a Security Council member with a veto. They really didnāt think that system through, did theyā¦
Not that it matters though, I doubt China would let such a resolution pass.
3 Likes
Apparently thereās another path they are pursuing. Following the dissolution of the USSR , the new Russia was never formally admitted onto the security council.
1 Like
The resolution would not be something that Russia would have a veto on, provided that it received sufficient majority from the full membership.
Thatās dead in the water. Sounds like an undergraduateās reasoning!
I actually caught a bit of his speech. He was on some historical rant about the Orthodox Church , obviously taking his cue from Putinās recent revisionism. No wonder they fucking walked out.
3 Likes
Thatās what I thought too.
I donāt the West should be providing free infrastructure for Putinās propaganda. I think there is some merit in allowing Russia to stay on the internet, because the free flow of information from and to the Russian public is essential to any hope in this. But the troll farms that have been spreading alt-right and anti-vax poison can go fuck themselves. Build their own youtube if they can.
8 Likes
Right, but the Russian state has blocked the European information channels, not the Europeans.
Wouldnāt take much to bypass any blocks if you wanted wider information sources. My phoneās currently in Australia 
3 Likes
Did they? Iāll take the point. Still not sure that the best way forward is to exclude the Russians from everything, including sport, culture etc. Not even during the cold war, we came to such an extreme point, at least not as far as Iām aware.
As a short-term measure, it might be ok, but long-term, itās a catastrophe.
Did the Soviets do a lot of invading sovereign territories during the Cold War?
Afghanistan?
Utmost respect for these people. Civil people facing the Russian soldiers without arms is an act of fantastic bravery, and surely far more efficient than starting to fight them and to be instantly eradicated. Pacific resistance at itās finest. 
Maybe this is the reason why we see these long Russian columns, seemingly stuck into nowhere? I can only lift my hat to these people. Itās admirable.
5 Likes
The essential difference between North Korea and Iranās sanctions and this is that a significant amount of Russian prosperity comes from engagement with the broader world. Iran and North Korea donāt have much to lose. Russia does. That may not result in a change of course, or a change of government, but Russia is dependent on the rest of the world for much of its military power as well.
The intent is to cripple Russia. That needs to be considered in the context of Putinās statements about nuclear weapons - which will have at least raised the question of a nuclear first strike for the first time in a generation. Sanctions are the safe middle in a very dangerous road.
6 Likes
Yeah, Afghanistan. And of course, some proxy-wars against the US in Korea, Vietnam etc. But Afghanistan is probably the most telling example indeed.
Even Afghanistan was nowhere near this egregious. That adventure started as an intervention to prop up what was already a client state, intervening to decide a factional conflict with the Afghan Communist Party.
2 Likes
Moscow Olympics, 1980?